NFL

Cardinals sign veteran S Wilson to extension

FLAGSTAFF, Ariz. (AP)

Five-time Pro Bowl safety Adrian Wilson has agreed to
restructure his contract and will take a pay cut unless he meets
incentives established in the new four-year deal.

The extension, which runs through the 2015 season, was agreed to
on Tuesday as the team reported to its training camp in
Flagstaff.

The 32-year-old Wilson had two years remaining on the five-year,
$39 million contract he signed in June 2009. His salary would have
been $6.5 million this year and $7.5 million toward the cap. The
new agreement lowers those numbers considerably. The Arizona
Republic reported Wilson will take a $3.5 million pay cut this
season.

But the total over the four years of the new deal could reach
$28 million to $30 million if he meets certain incentives.

The team approached Wilson and his agent, Eugene Parker, to
rework the contract. Wilson went along, with the main reason being
his desire to retire as a Cardinal.

Had he not agreed to the restructuring, he knew he ran the risk
of being released for salary cap reasons.

''I didn't want to be a cap casualty,'' Wilson said. ''At the
same time I didn't want to go out and play for another team. I
can't put my heart in another like I have this team. I knew that
going in. I was just being honest with myself, and I'm here.''

No one else on the Arizona roster has been with the team as long
as Wilson, a four-time team captain who was a third-round draft
pick of the Cardinals in 2001.

Wilson said he wanted to help clear space for contracts for
younger players.

''I think it helped out the team considerably with cap space,
and I'm not in it for the money,'' he said. ''I have enough of
that. I got extended a couple of years and I just want to end my
career here. Hopefully, the things that I'm doing now, hopefully
the young guys can understand why I'm doing it. Just trying to put
them in a better situation down the road.''

Coach Ken Whisenhunt praised Wilson for his unselfishness.

''If you look at a lot of successful teams in the league, they
have players that put the team first, which is important,''
Whisenhunt said. ''This is an unselfish move by Adrian. It gives us
flexibility with the cap as well as a chance to get our team
better. It's a tribute to Adrian and him putting the team first.
That's what he's done. That's why he's been such a good leader and
an outstanding player for us, and it means a lot.''

Wilson made the Pro Bowl last season for the fourth year in a
row, despite being slowed by a torn biceps, an injury he sustained
in training camp and that never fully healed throughout the season.
Wilson, like most of his teammates on defense, struggled early with
the system of new coordinator Ray Horton, but came on strong at the
end of the season as the Cardinals won seven of their last nine
games to finish 8-8.

Wilson finished the 2011 season with a career-high 16 passes
defensed. He had 75 tackles, one interception and one forced
fumble. He was in on 1,134 defensive snaps, most of any player in
the NFL.

The durable strong safety has played in 166 games, 10th-most in
franchise history. In his 11-year career, Wilson has 26
interceptions, 22 1/2 sacks, 12 forced fumbles and nine fumble
recoveries.

This is the fourth contract he has signed since the Cardinals
chose him out of North Carolina State.

Running back Beanie Wells and tight end Jeff King failed their
physicals and begin camp on the active physically unable to perform
list. King, recovering from surgery to repair a quadriceps injury
sustain in offseason workouts, was not expected to be ready to
practice. Wells, though, was something of a surprise. He played
last year with a sore knee and underwent surgery shortly after the
season ended. Whisenhunt said he didn't expect either to be
sidelined for long.

The Cardinals get an early start to training camp because they
will play in the Hall of Fame Game in Canton, Ohio, against New
Orleans on Aug. 5. The team holds its first workout Wednesday at
its Northern Arizona University practice facility amid the thin air
and pines of Flagstaff, with an elevation of 7,000 feet and
temperatures that are far cooler than the triple-digits of
Phoenix.

The team will work out for four days this week and next week
before heading to Canton. After that, the Cardinals will practice
in Kansas City before playing the Chiefs there on Aug. 10.

One of the main issues of training camp is at quarterback, where
coach Ken Whisenhunt has declared an open competition between Kevin
Kolb and John Skelton.

The only player with a significant injury is tight end Jeff
King, who is recovering from surgery to repair a quadriceps injury
sustained during offseason workouts.

Running backs Beanie Wells, who is coming off knee surgery, and
Ryan Williams, who missed all of what would have been his rookie
season with a knee injury, are expected to be limited at least
through the early portion of training camp.

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